Google exec addresses Canadian privacy fears on data

A Google executive defended U.S.-Canadian cooperation on privacy protection Thursday, suggesting the same powers granted by the controversial Patriot Act south of the border exist in similar form in Canada.

“I don’t think that the biggest danger to the non-secret information and the secret information is the United States,” said David Drummond, a senior vice-president and Google’s chief legal officer during a Google Big Tent event in Ottawa.

The comments were in response to the ongoing debate in Canada over how much Canadians’ private information should be shared on U.S. servers since 9/11, a cause for concern that has shaped both federal and provincial legislation.

Arguing that the United States has actually been more open than other Western countries about the powers it has given itself in the fight against Islamic fundamentalism, Drummond said Google is pushing the U.S. government for more judicial processes when data is requested in the name of security.

“When we think the U.S. government is overreaching, we push back,” said Drummond.

The debate on how private data should cross the border also relates to cloud computing, which involves saving data on a server other than the one used by the user. Canada, according to research seen by Drummond, has been particularly slow at adopting cloud computing.

Thursday’s event generally focused on the challenges posed to traditional governance by the openness of the Internet, and included much talk on how data flows have impacted trade negotiations.

“We’ve figured out a way to trade all kinds of hazardous substances,” said Drummond, putting it in context with the strict rules around data trade.

Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart and U.S. Trade Representative Jonathan McHale spoke on a panel devoted to the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, where data has become a sticking point.

Current Canadian laws force companies to localize their information on servers in Canada, something the U.S. negotiators would like to see loosened, according to the panelists.

Christopher Parsons, a Phd candidate at the University of Victoria, said the problem with the secret negotiations is that they will impact privacy laws put in place by democratically elected legislatures.

But Stoddard, the privacy commissioner, said she wasn’t certain about the impacts of the negotiations on provincial rules around data-sharing, since most legal regimes in the provinces deal with public data such as health care records.

The new diplomatic paradigm foisted upon policy makers by social media was also discussed, in particular regarding the Arab Spring.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird spoke with deputy director of Google Ideas Scott Carpenter about his department’s global dialogue with the Iranian people launched earlier this month, which he called a cyber-conversation with Iranians done in conjunction with the Munk School of Global Affairs in Toronto.

Around 350,000 Iranians are believed to have participated in the dialogue or have watched it since, said Baird.

Drummond, the Google exec, was also asked about how Canada’s competitiveness was affected by entrepreneurship in the digital sector.

Google sees immense potential in the creation of Internet start-ups in Canada, said Drummond, adding that his company has made seven or eight acquisitions in the country during the last few years.

“But beyond…the companies that are building the tools themselves, where I think Canada has a great opportunity in a much bigger way, is getting the rest of the businesses connected with the rest of the world as much as possible,” said Drummond.